Which RC for use on long / unkept grass?

[Pearcy]

Hi there,

 

As I would imagine with a lot of guys I used to spend my Saturday mornings as a lad getting a bus into town and then gazing at the Tamiya demo vids in Beatie's, although alas I couldn't afford one back then...

 

Now many years later I have 2x son's (9 and 11) and have just bought the older an FTX Tracer MT for xmas, which he likes. This is now the perfect excuse, err I mean reason to buy something for myself to use to go have some fun with him.

 

We live opposite some national trust land that people walk on, dog walkers etc. It is a large wide copse and runs for about a mile. There are some 'grass paths' that are maintained/mowed by the council, with the parts in the middle containing large tufts of weeds / bracken etc. A couple of times a year they gate portions off and put sheep in which then makes the grass short, at least for a period of time.

 

Now I know grass isn't ideal for majority of RC's unless it's short / mowed but that said my lads FTX Tracer MT copes surprisingly well on the mowed paths. So the question is, given what's right on my doorstep is where it would get used the most, which RC car would work 'best' on that sort of terrain? - I have tried looking at YouTube and the various channels - Mark Bryan etc. but majority of the running seems to be on tarmac, gravel, parks with short grass, I guess for obvious reasons.

 

Now, what I would 'like' I think is more Tamiya due to the boyhood dream. - Fully realise that the likes of Traxxas, Arrma etc. are much more capable these days, but I don't think I'll be into major bashing. I'm a petrol head (have a Lotus etc.) and tend to be fairly mechanically sympathetic. I just want something I think RWD, to power slide around, do the odd wheelie and small jumps. It's just the challenge of the unkept grass to factor in...

[Pearcy]

Hit enter too soon!

 

So, if the terrain was 'kinder' I think I would like something like a DT-03 Racing fighter with a few hop ups, but with the long grass guessing the ride height will need to be more like a Monster Truck, so maybe 2WD Traxxas Maxx? / Team Associated Rival MT10?

 

-Why is it so difficult to find ride heights for RC's listed?!! - I know the Maxx is quoted as being 4 inches, which seems like it would be plenty, but how do others compare? Although lower, would a Mad Bull cope given the truck wheels?

 

Say if I decided to build a Tamiya Black Foot, with either a Torque Tuned or a mild brushless motor (obviously fitting steel bearings and likely a MIP ball diff) what's the actual ground clearance on those? is anyone that has one able to measure it? / comment? - fully realise a Black Foot is nowhere near the performance of something like the Traxass Max or Rival MT but as we know with Tamiya's there's a nostalgic element at play + the bodies look realistic / cool too!

Edited January 5, 2022 by Pearcy

[Pearcy]

And here are a few pics of the grass copse to give you some idea...

 

 

Edited January 5, 2022 by Pearcy

[Stormbringer]

What about the Tamiya Lunchbox or Midnight Pumpkin 2wd with larger wheels altho not fast they are fun and should handle the paths ok ?

[Tug]

I'd forget 2WD, most are rubbish off road. 

 

Aim for a large 4WD, brushless, 4 or 6S.

[Bajadre]

prob best with an MT brother if cut short you could get away with a truggy and ST once you lay some track lines down 👍

defo agree with tug gonna need some 4wd power for those mud ruts

[Pearcy]

46 minutes ago, Stormbringer said:

What about the Tamiya Lunchbox or Midnight Pumpkin 2wd with larger wheels altho not fast they are fun and should handle the paths ok ?

Yeah, thanks - I did briefly consider those. Stronger gearboxes than the Blackfoot although after checking out running vids etc. whilst they hold some appeal for sheer 'silliness' I think I'd get frustrated with the front end bouncing all over the place and think the Blackfoot seems to look a bit more planted / capable?

[Pearcy]

22 minutes ago, Bajadre said:

prob best with an MT brother if cut short you could get away with a truggy and ST once you lay some track lines down 👍

defo agree with tug gonna need some 4wd power for those mud ruts

 

Ah, ok - yeah, my lads 1/16 4x4 MT does surprisingly ok if you stick to the paths provided you keep on the power.

 

So, what is the ground clearance on something like a Rival MT then? - is is about the same as a Maxx? so around 4 inches?

Edited January 5, 2022 by Pearcy

[Pearcy]

In my head I think my ideal RC 'garage' would include:

 

Racing Fighter with hop ups like shock towers, bearings etc. and a 13T brushless motor (to take to the parks to run on the paths and short grass)

Blackfoot with MIP ball diff, bearings and Torque Tuned motor (for off road / opposite where I live)

Brat (just because the look so good!), although I think I'll build up to getting one over time as I'll need time in my head to prepare for the body painting to do it justice

 

Although, if it transpires a Blackfoot won't be up to the sort of terrain I have in mind I could get a Rival MT10 instead (I like the idea of the proper centre diff they have in those)

[jariworsley]

if the FTX can cope with those mown paths then 1/10th will as well. e.g. the tamiya stormbringer says above. or even mad bull. and you get to build them... and then use them elsewhere. 

or to add to Tugs post - if not 10th scale MT then go 8th scale MT or truggy. if I could have one and one only RC it would probably be 8th scale truggy. so capable, lots with great race history and engineering to match, capable of taking serious power trains. and 8th scale just gives a lot more strength and durability compared to 10th.

 

Lastly I wouldn't base an RC choice solely on that one piece of land.

Where else might you want or be able to run them?

How much might you value the building of it over the running of it?

realistically once you have 2, what are you going to get for the 3rd? because you have two boys (three if we include you 😄 ). 2 RCS and 3 people? hmmm.

 

edit: of course grass that long could match 5th scale petrol... interesting engineering but then you are into a whole new range of cost, complexity, noise. and your boys will probably hate it at 9 and 11.

Edited January 5, 2022 by jariworsley
added petrol

[supersavage]

I'd probably forget about the Tamiyas for that kind of terrain as I think even a mild brushless one would struggle there. The Maxx would be fine I would imagine however it is pricey for what it is, not far of a 6s capable 1/8th buggy/truggy/monster truck (the Arrma Kraton v5 is around the same price as the Maxx though you would need two 3s LiPos to run it rather than a single 3/4s Lipo). The Mt 10 is only slightly smaller than the Maxx and I think a little lighter also considerably cheaper.

[Steve-O2021]

1/8th HPI TROPHY TRUGGY

 

I got one and it handles everything and very solid. After loads of bashing in a quarry and rough rocks and woodlands I've only broke a plastic suspension pin mounting block 

[Steve-O2021]

 

 

 

Edited January 6, 2022 by Steve-O2021

[Pearcy]

Possibly an FTX DR8? - they look good value considering the Hobbywing b/l motor and ESC, what's the ground clearance on those?

[Lone-wolf]

On 06/01/2022 at 14:53, Pearcy said:

Possibly an FTX DR8? - they look good value considering the Hobbywing b/l motor and ESC, what's the ground clearance on those?

The DR-8 would likely handle it well, good luck finding right rig just for record i just sold a Blackfoot, you would of been disappointed with one of these for this running 

[MrCake]

Not seeing any mention of scale, but from my own collection of cars, that kind of terrain would be good with my Big Rock, WLToys 124016 or HPI Jumpshot Flux (RWD option).

 

Big Rock - will easily handle that terrain, is fast (IMO) and a lot of fun.   On 3s you will find any cut grass will wrap itself around pretty much everything  but that will be true for some other fast stuff.

 

124016 - Make sure you get a V2 but I like the style of these and they are small and light enough to chuck in a rucksack which you might find handy

 

Jumpshot Flux - A car I initially hated but a lot of fun, is very fast for 2wd.  Price has gone up since I got mine and I would say you MUST thread lock the motor mount screws and pinion grub.  I was unimpressed with the stock tyres but some Rustler ones from JennyRC sorted that.

 

 

[Kpowell911]

Unkept grass is, in my opinion a no go for an RC. I try not to even run my X Maxx, it just saps performance, creates heat, gets stuck in driveshafts etc

[babylon]

1 hour ago, Kpowell911 said:

Unkept grass is, in my opinion a no go for an RC. I try not to even run my X Maxx, it just saps performance, creates heat, gets stuck in driveshafts etc

Gotta agree with this, Wouldn't go anywhere near that with anything less than a 1/5 scale, And I'm talking proper big gas 1/5 scale,  As soon as you drive on it you can physically hear it sucking power and struggling, Your just cook everything and your run times  will be dire. 

Edited January 8, 2022 by babylon